The Israeli Communications Ministry has given formal approval to Bezeq,
the Israeli telephone company, to initiate ADSL trial runs.
Bezeq plans
to offer ADSL technology to Internet providers and content providers,
who in turn offer their customers a variety of subjects, such as
interactive games, video, music, programs and hosting on remote servers;
each of these applications requires extensive and stable bandwidth.
Hertzel Ozer, Bezeq’s vice president of sales and marketing, said the ADSL technology will enable Bezeq to continue to be a leading
provider of communication and content services, even when the Israeli
communication market becomes open to competition. (The Israeli
communication market is currently undergoing an accelerated deregulation
process).
Yoni Sapir, manager of the computerized communication division of
Bezeq’s sales and marketing Department, stated that at the first stage,
Bezeq will set up ADSL equipment at five telephone exchanges and examine
different applications.
He said there is now a tender for
providing ADSL equipment to Bezeq, and at this time three companies have
successfully passed the first stage: Orckit, ECI and Alkatel. During
the early stages, all three companies will provide the necessary
equipment and as the experiment progresses Bezeq will select the
equipment best suited for the set performance levels.
It should be noted that ADSL hook-up fees in Israel are expected to be
high. Professor Groneau’s report, recently adopted by the Israeli
Minister of Communications, Limor Livnat, has recommended charging high
prices for permanent Internet connections. For this reason, ADSL
connections in Israel are suitable for large corporations.
